Sawmill — Restaurant in London

◆ Price of the food/what we ordered

We visited just after mid day on a weekend. We paid just over £41 for two veggie breakfasts, two oat lattes (worth noting there is an extra 50p charge for oat milk), one cheese spinach and egg croissant, and the cottage cheese and dill dumplings. It was too much food for two people. We were hungry and over-ordered. I think they provide tap water free of charge but you have to ask for it. It would be nice if it was provided upfront.

◆ Location

Located on a fairly big street (West Ham Lane), pretty close to Stratford Station but a bit quieter which is nice.

◆ Interior

Nice rustic style interior, feels dark and cosy inside. Fairy lights are a nice touch. The interior is bigger than it looks from the outside.

The music is a mix of pop/dance/general trendy upbeat music, which doesn’t exactly match the calm and cosy visual aesthetic of the place. Not super obtrusive as it’s played at a fairly low volume but it’s definitely loud enough it makes itself heard. Not my cup of tea but most crowds probably wouldn’t have a problem with it.

The toilets are unisex. There was a baby changing table which might be relevant for some folks to know. There was no hand soap in any of the toilets. The bins were overflowing with used paper towels.

◆ Customer service

As far as customer service, while not unpleasant per se, it wasn’t the friendliest or most welcoming in general. You walk in, you are given a menu, told to find yourself a table and order at the till. No smiles or pleasantries exchanged. However, service was quick and efficient. Coffees came first, croissant next, followed by the breakfast and then the dumplings. Plates were cleared off the tables quickly.

◆ Food

Coffee was good but there is an extra charge for non-dairy milk as noted. We really enjoyed the croissant and the dumplings were lovely, though by the time we got to eating them we were already stuffed as we accidentally ordered too much. The veggie breakfast was a good size and decent value. You don’t get a lot of bread relative to the amount of beans/other ingredients and there was a lot of liquid on the plate (unsure whether water or oil – perhaps water from the vegetables). The potatoes were really nice.

To summarise, the coffee and food were quite good, service was quick although staff weren’t the friendliest bunch (though I appreciate it might be a cultural difference as most of the staff working there seemed to be non-British born, and they seemed busy). Unfortunately I can’t look past the issue of paper towel/toilet tissue all over the floor and hand soap missing in the bathroom. All that being said I will likely visit Sawmill again seeing as it has nice coffee as well as several vegetarian/vegan friendly options on the menu which I’d be interested...

Your Ukrainian culinary adventure starts here…

If you are looking for a blue and yellow gem - then this Ukrainian Cafe and Bakery in West Ham Lane, a two-minutes walk from Stratford Underground Station, might be just up your street.

But having said “just up your street”, I live in North-West London and Sawmill is in East London, not to be confused with Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, where England’s national poet William Shakespeare was born, but either way, it was well-worth the long trip on the Met and Jubilee line.

In fact, in Sawmill you’re more likely to hear the language of Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko, whose poetry was even better than his football namesake Andriy Shevchenko, ex-Dynamo Kyiv, Chelsea and national team manager.

I’ve been to this beautiful cafe at least three times in the last two years, and it has never let me down. The staff is made up of Ukrainians and others, and on the day, a Moldovan waitress who served us, was very friendly and professional.

I was there with my wife and cousin, and we always go for the same dishes on the menu - borscht, which has a rich flavour of beetroot, potato, dill and other vegetables. It came with a tasty soft piece of baked garlic bread and a small dish of smetana or sour cream to cool down the piping hot soup.

We then had as mains a plate of varenyky - traditional Ukrainian dumplings filled with cream cheese and a smattering of dill. I believe we got around 6-7 on the plate, but they were so tasty, I cleaned the plate before I counted them.

On this occasion we decided to push the boat out and ordered a Ukrainian hearth-baked bread called a Palianytsia, soft garlic and cheese flavoured, and very delicious.

The word Palianytsia believe it or not is a shibboleth used to unmask foreign agents in Ukraine's armed forces, who are usually unable to pronounce the word correctly. The staff pronounced it perfectly.

We spent more than an hour in the eaterie and at no time were we pressurised to leave. The atmosphere was pleasant and there was a decent lunchtime crowd.

It is usually known that a restaurant’s reputation is defined by how clean its toilets are. Having had a big meal and a bottle of Lviv beer, the wc in this establishment got a clean bill of health.

There are many places in London that serve Ukrainian food, and I would rate Sawmill as premier league in quality and value for money.

This one also offers non-Ukrainian alternatives such as a Kids Menu of Chicken Goujons, Sandwiches, Vegan Breakfast options, Mains including Beef Stroganoff, Poached Salmon, Chicken Breast Burger, Desserts of Sweet Pancakes, Apple Crumble, Lviv Cheesecake and a Warm Chocolate Brownie. For me, it was five stars from start to finish, and highly...

Came here today (Saturday). Despite ordering food/drinks we were told"you are not allowed to use your laptop". When I asked why I was told that those are the rules as we will be keeping a table for too long and they do not allow people to work on their laptops on a week end(how was she supposed to know why my laptop was on the table and I long I was meaning to use it for , is a mistery). Bear in mind that at this point the place was not that busy and the girl herself also pointed out that another person was using his laptop and she was going to let him know next(I did not ask). I have been here a few times before (on a week end) with my partner. Their Vegan breakfast is lovely and the coffees are always nice. The vegan cinnamon roll is a must try! Vegan options are-very-limited but I was more then happy with what was on offer. I started coming here on a week day as I am helping a friend with her studies and we eat, drink plenty of coffees/cold drinks (depending on the mood)while studying. This place was my go to during the pandemic(for a take away coffee and a treat) before heading to the park. The guys who were sitting next to my table questioned the waiter asking "so one can not come here for a coffee and to read a book as they will keep the table for too long?"which was a valid point but she obviously had no answer to that and walked away. No need to say we left before eating and headed down to XIX(lovely welcoming place). SAWMILL was very convenient as it is less than 10mins walk from my flat, but I'd rather walk 20mins than being asked to leave or put my laptop away. I am always happy to help a local business instead of giving my money to big companies but the service can be a little poor, I believe due to staff's poor English? I doubt this waitress wanted to be dismissive or rude walking away. This does not bother me as I am not English my self but it can be a problem if you have food allergies/diet requirements(so bear that in mind). The 3 starts seem fair enough as I never had major problems in the past but I will not be coming back. Sorry guys, I understand where you are coming...